The ACC has released the 2020 Clinical Competencies for Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants in Adult Cardiovascular Medicine to identify the knowledge and skills that are important for nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) working in general cardiovascular medicine and cardiovascular medicine subspecialty areas.

Published March 20 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the document is the first competency statement issued for nonphysician members of the cardiovascular care team.

"Model cardiovascular care teams include NPs and PAs as integral members to manage and treat patients," said George P. Rodgers, MD, FACC, chair of the clinical competency statement steering committee.

"Through clinical competences we are promoting enhanced collaborative, high-quality and patient-centered care teams by ensuring NPs and PAs are receiving the highest levels of education, training and experience needed to provide patients with optimal care." Read more.